Panama’s President Mulino Announced the Start of Internal Talks on the Future of the Copper Mine

President José Raúl Mulino announced this Thursday, March 20, during his weekly press conference that he will hold his first meeting with his team on Monday to address the issue of the copper mine in Donoso.  The decision comes weeks after the president requested an end to international arbitration proceedings related to the mine.  According to the president, they have not yet been notified of the suspension of the seven arbitration claims for the mine closure.   They will not hold formal talks until that happens.  Mulino also indicated that he will meet with the Panamanian Mining Chamber (Camipa) next week to discuss the issue of accounts payable to the mine’s suppliers.  He said he was certain that hundreds of millions of dollars would be spent on companies that created high-paying jobs with significant contributions to the treasury, including social security, among other things. 

He emphasized that the economic impact of the mine’s closure amounts to approximately $780 million in direct taxes and millions more in Social Security.   Mulino stated that if there is a favorable opinion on the mine’s operation, he does not have the discretion as president of the country to say that “there will not be a mine.”  He believes this is a critically important issue, one in which there must be national coherence and understanding regarding what they are going to do.  The head of the Executive branch stated that although arbitration proceedings are suspended, the Panamanian government has potential liability for more than $20 billion in claims.   Reducing that amount of money to zero requires intelligent and beneficial negotiations for the country, Mulino added.  According to the president, the mining sector is extremely important in the country’s current economic climate, especially in terms of job creation.